nasty weather in the north-east. snarling one of the busy days of the year. a powerful storm forcing millions of americans to rethink thanksgiving plans. two world powers have a face-off over air space. u.s. military planes fly over china's newly claimed air defense zone. >> the supreme court weighs in over obamacare contraceptives - they'll decide if private companies must pay for birth controls even if they have religious objections >> pope francis - he says it's

time the faithful help those in need. welcome to al jazeera america. tens of millions of people on the east coast are in the grips of a massive storm. conditions stretch from atlanta to boston, a mix of snow, sleet, ice and heavy rain. with each passing hour roads are trech ourous and flights are cancelled or delayed. we have a team of reporters tracking the impact of the storm. al jazeera's juan carlos molina begins the coverage on how the weather is hampering driving. >> conditions treacherous. the impact unavoidable. scenes like this on highways across america. >> i hydroplaned over here, came off and slid around. >> from michigan a close call from a dashboard camera as a

truck loses control - barely missing a car. in flint the weather is blamed for multi-car pile ups. it's dangerous for drivers and emergency crews responding to accidents like this. this storm is moving, taking aim at the north-east. now posing a real threat for thanksgiving , where a majority of holiday travellers will be taking to the roads instead of the air. >> that was juan carlos molina reporting. the wintry weather is grounding flights up and down the eastern sea board. we have more from the jackson airport international. >> here in atlanta at the busiest airport thousands of travellers landed in a cold, rainy south. >> i know it was busy. waiting five hours - it's ridiculous. >> heavy rain, high wind and snow is affecting travellers as they begin holiday trips across

the nation. >> i came from chicago to atlanta. it's amazing how the plane made it through the rain. i didn't see the ground until almost touchdown. >> thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed. the travellers at new york's lague wardia decided to get a head start. >> i changed my flight to get home for the holidays. >> delta and u.s. airways charted to waive change fees. for travellers - paying up was worth it. >> it was many hundreds to change the tickets. we had family plans in chicago that we can't miss. >> it's not just in the skies. of 43,000 who are travelling. 93,000 are driving for the holiday. >> faster, cheaper. sound advice. snow, ice and freezing rain are

making roads treacherous from ohio to north carolina. more snow and sleet is expected. rain is a major issue from florida to the eastern sea board. n >> we all knew that storm system was going to take place. it is in full action. you can see on the satellite as it pushes the rain showers to the south-east and a mix and snow to the north. we'll see a lot of problems at the airports. this is where the biggest delays will be, boston, lague wardia and washington. pittsburg with the snow meaning icy. atlanta - you'll deal with the winds. on the highways - a lot of rain. i-80 - the problem is a combination of rain and snow. it will be one of the most

miserable places. down towards georgia, i75 and i-95. be careful on the highways. out to the north-west. better conditions. we are looking at no showers except across parts of western washington. that will not cause a problem in terms of delays. wednesday doing nice. friday, saturday and sunday the rain coming in. sunday there's a travel day. looks like seattle you'll deal with problems with the rain. down towards the south-west no problems. rain coming in thursday and friday. over to sunday it will be a sunny day. temperatures at 70. across texas the rain is ending from most locations. we expect a high, not too high, of 46. you forecast is looking like this. rainy tuesday and wednesday at 49. >> the controversy over birth control coverage under the

health reform law is in the hands of the supreme court. the justices decided tuesday they'll hear argument in march. the issue whether private employers can refuse to pay because of reliage us belief. >> the administration welcomes the decision. it could be a landmark case. they asked the supreme court to do this in spring. they are confident of victory. president obama has been travelling on the west coast. a fundraising swing. he's due at the white house on tuesday night. there was a statement after the supreme court made its announcement by the white house reading in part:

>> the supreme court points out that religious institutions are not required to provide contraceptive coverage under the affordable care act, but the key legal question is does that exemption provide - extend to private for-profit companies. many are looking at this as a huge decision. meantime, advocates of women's reproductive rights say if the supreme court decides with hobby lobby, and other organizations and there are dozeness of lawsuits along the lines. it could mean the affordable care act would be picked apart. any business could object on any grounds to covering certain provisions within the act. >> mike viqueira from the white house. a pair of u.s. bombers flew through air space china said was its own. al jazeera's rosalind jordan has

more. >> on monday night the u.s. military says two b52 bombers like this flew over the senkakku islands over japan for training purposes. the u.s. official denied the response was in relation to budget's decision to control the airspace. islands which were long claimed as their own. >> this unilateral action is an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the china sea. it will raise confrontation and accident. we have made the case to china. >> on saturday beijing declared the space over the diaoyu island as part of its airdefense identification zone. it requires foreign aircraft to identify themselves before entering the zone or face

military action. a chinese warship was seen on patrol in the south china sea. >> it's national. it's the right of every country to defend its air space and also to make sure that it's sovereignty are safe guarded. >> the u.s. says none of its aircraft, commercial or military will comply. it says it's national and no country can restrict flights. the former barack obama administration official says washington does want to send a message to beijing - it's being watched. >> we have the rising power of china acting like a classic rising power, which is challenging the status quo, despite chinese rhetoric that

they want a new form of power relations. this is as old a form of power relations as you can get. this challenge. it could be dangerous. >> so far this dispute involved ambassadors being summoned to foreign minister ris. the challenge for the u.s. is to regain its administration to a neutral party. >> and planes from japan's airlines passed through the air defense zone without notifying beijing. >> pope francis is defining his vision for the future of the church of the the pontiff want to shift power away from the vatican and put effort in helping the poor. >> little more than a year passed since he became the head of the catholic church. pope francis released a major written work. in the 84 page manifesto, he

called for action from within, from a church that is bruised, hurting and hurting from the streets. he wrote of charity and renewal, cautioning people against greed and inequality. >> translation: the various forms of social disparity, the fetishes of economy and faceless economy. consumption and unbridled consumer im. >> he called for the rich to share their wealth. francis leads by example, wearing simpler robes and living in a guest house rather than a palace. >> some in mexico accuse him and his advisors of hypocrisy. >> translation: capitalism in all its riches, he would not be living how he lives, but within

the economy, inside the same church. pope francis focused on human rights before. this time he calls on all catholics to help. >> where is the person that you are killing every day in his secret factory, and children used for professional begging, and those who must work in secret because they are irregular. let us not pretend. awful us have a shared responsibility. >> pope francis has hinted at reforms suggesting bishops should have more authority than before. he didn't cause a change in two key areas. women should have an important role, but will not be priests. allowing abortion is not up for debate. >> pope francis offered advice for priests on how to carry out their duties.

confessions should not be torture, and he urged priests to rite whom olies that don't bore. >> the security deal between the u.s. and afghanistan hanging in the balance as that country's president does an advance face. how the children to educate them could be at risk. oj simpson told he is staying behind bars while a judge shot down where is for a retrial on his robbery conviction. >> texas officials are fighting texting while driving.

>> texas officials are fighti

>> the obama administration is looking at new ways to finalise the security deal with afghanistan. white house officials confirm they are pushing the afghanistan foreign minister to sign it. hamid karzai says he won't approve it until new demands are met. the deal will keep thousands of u.s. troops there past the end

of next year, susan rice was face to face with hamid karzai in afghanistan urging him not to delay the deal. >> if the agreement is not signed promptly, what i said to the president is we would have no choice, we'd be compelled by necessity, not our preference, to begin to plan for the prospect that we will not be able to keep our troops here. they will not be invited because the bsa will not have been signed. the nature of our investment would be more difficult to sustain. >> the proposal keeps troops in afghanistan through 2024. the white house says all troops will be pulled out if the deal is not signed, until the end of the year. >> if it doesn't go through charities by international donors will be jeopardized. jane ferguson has this report from kabul.

>> these boys used to spend all day picking rubbish off the street to sell for a few dollars. now they go to school, courtesy of a local charity, helping children who work on the streets catch up on studies and get back into the state education system. >> i was collecting the paper. the head of the school came to me and asked if i wanted to go to school. >> in afghanistan charities funded by donors are anxious. a dispute between the americans and afghan president hamid karzai threatens to jeopardise foreign donations to the country if he doesn't sign a security pact with the u.s. on monday heated discussions between hamid karzai and susan rice went nowhere. those running consumer products say donor fatigue is setting in. the organization behind the

school used to run the shelter. they shut their doors in march as money from abroad ended. the small shelter used to house children who went to the school. >> those children, because of them will have to go back to work. >> for years this gave children somewhere safe to sleep. now it's empty. the charity that ran it has run out of money. some see the refusal to sign the pact as a risky move that perhaps the u.s. is bluffing on threats to cut aid. >> i believe the americans want

to stay here. they think they were in a strong bargaining position. they may be out of kilter with reality. that's the view from the palace. >> it's a different view from the classroom. even so, the children enjoy themselves unaware of the political crisis and how it could end what little they have. >> the u.s. spent $145 million on education in afghanistan. the obama administration is taking new steps to keep congress from derailing the iran nuclear deal. secretary of state john kerry made his case to lawmakers on tuesday, and asked him not to impose new sanctions on iran. the agreement called for sanctions to be eased. two senators are working on a bill that would reinstate the sanctions.

syria's largest rebel group says its terms must be met. the syrian national coalition is demanding aid and the release of prisoners. u.n. talks are scheduled to start on january 22nd in geneva. the syrian government hat not said whether it would attend. >> calls made to 911 during newtown mass anger should be released. the tapes will be sealed for a week while the state prepares an appeal. >> o.j. simpson will remain behind bars. the former football star did not prove that his trial was unfair. he was convicted of armed robbery, sentenced 33 years in prison. >> five seconds - that's the average time it takes to look at

a text message while driving. if you are going 55 miles per hour, you could travel the length of a football field and cause an accident in a flash. >> we have this report from tennessee which has the largest amount of deaths linked from texting while drivers. >> new message boards reminding drivers that nearly 900 haven't killed. distracted driving, texting behind the wheel, is behind many deadly crashes. >> it is getting worse. right now it's the number one traffic safety issue in the country. >> tennessee is one of 41 states where it is illegal to text and drive. highway deaths have not gone town. 2012 saw one of the highest

fatality rates ever. 1,019 people have been killed. >> i would like a stronger law that we could enforce. i think down the line in the future, probably five to 10 years from now it will be against the law to have an electronic device in your hands and drive. >> a national safety report details how bad the problem has become. 700 fat -- 7% of accidents were texting while driving. many states are underreporting data. because texting and driving is tough to enforce a variety the strategies are used to combat the problem. tennessee state troopers swapped squad cars to 18 wheelers, so

they can see what is happening. >> sobering psas are used to highlight the dangers of d distracted driving. >> this is the text before she flipped her car. >> lawmakers are promising to push for heftier fines and have points added to a licence. >> if i get a $250 every time i text and drive i'll stop. >> thp is getting ready to up the ante and enforce the laws. >> state leaders believe the problem of distracted driving will get worse leaving tennessee and other states looking for more aggressive approaches to keep numbers like these from climbing. >> it's not just texting, talking on the phone increases the risk of a crash. it takes your mind off of

driving. >> the holiday season looking brighter for a retailer. >> a record auction for the first book printed in the u.s. how much a businessman paid to get the rare read. >> u.s. citizens forced to leave the county. how children born in america to undocumented parents are caught in the battle for immigration reform.

. welcome back. the holiday season is looking bright for tiffany's, the high-end retailer is raising its outlook after a strong third quarter. tiffany's says earnings rose and sales were up 7%. the first book in america sells for $14.2 million. "the ban psalm book" translated in 1640 by pure tan settlers was auctioned in new york by soth bys. it's one of 11 copies known to

exist and bought by u.s. businessman david rubenstein, who plans to lend it to libraries. >> supporters point out that 300,000 undocumented immigrants from mexico were deported. some are children, u.s. citizens, forced to leave when their parents are sent back to mexico. >> along a ruttered dirt road littered with trash and broken houses. you'll find the francisco villa secondary school in eastern tijuana. for 13-year-old emily, who used to live in burbank california, the new school is as strange as the country she calls home. >> i like it way more over there, it's prettier, friends. i had my whole life. >> and so did 13-year-old stephanie, who used to live in southern california. >> i didn't talk about it, i didn't know much about it. >> both are u.s. citizens,

forced to leave their homeland when their parents were deported. there are 5,000 u.s.-born kids living throughout the mexican state of baha. >> we met ana and ysidro, born in mexico, but live the in the u.s. since babies. moving back has not been easy. >> we are passing the border, there's trash everywhere. the walls are graffiti and stuff. >> schools in mexico struggle with lack of funding and a lack of space. they are certainly not equipped to handle the needs of thousands of binational students. >> they are subjected to teasing because they don't speak spanish or dominate the language. the teachers don't have the patients for the kids. >> a pilot program is so critical. three days a week students like stephanie and ysidro come to the

community center on the outskirts of town. they learn spanish, computer skills and receive counselling. >> she says they are students with different needs and don't feel part of either place - mexico or the u.s. >> the key is keeping them in school, away from drugs, keeping them away from other problems of delinquency. >> the kids say the key is realising they are not alone. >> the program helped me. i met others like me - they were over there and had to come here. >> i'm learning new stuff, getting used to being here. >> the program which started in september will end in january unless the international community foundation can raise an additional 50,000. without it the all-american teens trying to find their way in mexico could be lost.

>> that's it for this edition of al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy, good evening. organized crime. our digital producer, raj is here, and nobody wants to support a criminal exercise, but most of the avocados we buy from mexico do just that. >> people love their guacamole.